Big Ten links: Catch up on today's hoops & football headlines

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 7 months ago

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Big Ten links: Catch up on today's hoops & football headlines

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 7 months ago

GoldAndBlack.com has a good Q&A with Michigan transfer Spike Albrecht, who will finish his career at Purdue. The Indiana native has experience and savvy that no doubt will help the Boilermakers at a point guard spot that hasn’t exactly been a strength under Matt Painter.

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Some early preseason polls show Michigan State falling out the top 10. Interesting.

The plan is not to replace the Fighting Illini nickname that the school’s teams now use, campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said. But the school wants to select a mascot to be on the sidelines and at events. Wilson acknowledged the process could include ”challenges.” Many students and university graduates would like to see Chief Illiniwek return, wearing Chief-themed shirts to sports events and chanting ”Chief!” This probably won’t happen.

On the gridiron in Lincoln, it looks like touted QB Patrick O’Brien will redshirt.

“A lot of times, you get a young guy … It just takes a long time for them to really be comfortable going into a game unless they are a clear-cut starter,” OC Danny Langsdorf told the Lincoln Journal Star. “So, I think what you’d like to do is keep developing (O’Brien) and not just have to throw him in there and have him take his lumps.”

So, that means senior Ryker Fyfe will backup senior Tommy Armstrong with sophomore AJ Bush also fighting for time. The race to QB this team in 2017 will be VERY interesting with Armstrong and Fyfe gone.

John Beilein is left with the remnants of some flawed science. His 2014 recruiting class — one that filled six scholarships and was to swivel the program to the future — has frayed and fragmented. As of Tuesday morning, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and D.J. Wilson are the lone remnants. Aubrey Dawkins, Ricky Doyle and Kameron Chatman have all transferred. Austin Hatch is in a non-playing role.

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Watching this Big 12 soap opera play out is fascinating. Whichever schools the league would add wouldn’t figure to add much juice. So, why do it? Is having Cincinnati, Memphis or UConn REALLY gonna improve the Big 12’s playoff chances? Come on. I think this league is doomed.

Look, let’s just have four, 16-team leagues with each conference champ getting a playoff berth. NO MORE COMMITTEES PICKING TEAMS! If the playoff goes to six teams, let a committee pick the two wild-card teams.

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Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer

About Tom Dienhart: BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, and send him questions to his weekly mailbag.